As a child Acie spent much of his time roaming over the broad acres of the Folsom plantation with other slave children.  They waded in the streams, fished, chased rabbits and always knew where the choicest wild berries and nuts grew.  He knew all the wood lore common to children of his time.  This he learned mostly from “cousin Ed” who was several years older than he and quite willing to enlighten a small boy in these matters.

He was taught that hooting owls were very jealous of their night hours and whenever they hooted near a field of workers they were saying:  “Task done or no done—­night’s my time—­go home!” Whippoorwills flitted about the woods in cotton picking time chattering about Jack marrying a widow.  He could not remember the story that goes with this.  Oppossums were a “sham faced” tribe who “sometimes wandered onto the wrong side of the day and got caught.”  They never overcame this shame as long as they were in captivity.

All bull rushes and tree stumps were to be carefully searched.  One might find his baby brother there at any time.

When Acie “got up some size” he was required to do small tasks, but the master was not very exacting.  There were the important tasks of ferreting out the nests of stray hens, turkeys, guineas and geese.  These nests were robbed to prevent the fowls from hatching too far from the hen house.  Quite a number of these eggs got roasted in remote corners of the plantation by the finders, who built fires and wrapped the eggs in wet rags and covered them with ashes.  When they were done a loud pop announced that fact to the roaster.  Potatoes were cooked in the same manner and often without the rags.  Consequently these two tasks were never neglected by the slave children.  Cotton picking was not a bad job either—­at least to the young.

Then there was the ride to the cotton house at the end of the day atop the baskets and coarse burlap sheets filled with the day’s pickings.  Acie’s fondest ambition was to learn to manipulate the scales that told him who had done a good day’s work and who had not.  His cousin Ed did this envied task whenever the overseer could not find the time.

Many other things were grown here.  Corn for the cattle and “roasting ears,” peanuts, tobacco and sugar cane.  The cane was ground on the plantation and converted into barrels of syrup and brown sugar.  The cane grinding season was always a gala one.  There was always plenty of juice, with the skimmings and fresh syrup for all.  Other industries were the blacksmith shop where horses and slaves were shod.  The smoke houses where scores of hogs and cows were prepared and hung for future use.  The sewing was presided over by the mistress.  Clothing were made during the summer and stored away for the cool winters.  Young slave girls were kept busy at knitting cotton and woolen stockings.  Candles were made in the “big house” kitchen and only for consumption by the household of the master.  Slaves used fat lightwood knots or their open fireplaces for lighting purposes.